The Courage Test
by Inazuma Ichigo
Summary: The jōnin-sensei of Konoha decide to send their genin on a nighttime test of courage. The rules: stay with the group. Don't get caught. And above all, don't let out even the smallest of screams or else the whole team fails. Twoshot.


_The jōnin-sensei of Konoha decide to send their genin on a nighttime test of courage. The rules: stay with the group. Don't get caught. And above all, don't let out even the smallest of screams or else the whole team fails. Twoshot._

**Rated K+ for descriptions that may be scary/disturbing to younger readers.**

* * *

**Chapter One: Warming Up**

The four of them sat together at the restaurant table, and Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai watched Guy devour the food on his plate.

"So," said Asuma. "How are all your genin doing?"

"They're…getting by," said Kakashi. "They're not quite ready for a C-rank mission yet, but they're making progress."

Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Yes, they're definitely improving."

"Kakashi!" said Guy after swallowing a mouthful of curry. "You should have more faith in your team! I believe in my precious students, and after all their hard work, they're ready for the Chūnin Exams!"

"It's a little early to be thinking about the Exams," said Asuma. "They're months away. And yes, your students are older, but our genin are fresh out of the Academy."

"If they're ready, it doesn't matter how young they are! In fact, youth—"

"Perhaps we should test them to see how ready they really are," interrupted Kakashi.

"Test them?" said Asuma. "How so?"

Kakashi leaned forward. "Here's my idea."

* * *

Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Eh? A courage test?"

"That's right," said Kakashi. "You three will join the other genin teams at the Third Training Ground tonight. We'll explain the rules then."

"This'll be a piece of cake," said Sakura. In her mind, Inner Sakura punched the air and said, "Hell yeah! We'll give Naruto the slip, and Sasuke-kun and I will have some alone time under the moon!"

Sasuke stood there in silence. A courage test? What a waste of time.

* * *

Lee's eyes burned with the intensity of a forest fire. "I cannot wait, Guy-sensei!"

"Isn't it exciting?" said Guy, and his eyes burned equally intense.

Actually, Neji thought it was rather childish. "What is the purpose of this courage test?"

"To test our courage, of course," said Tenten. "Ninja have to be brave."

"Yes, but why do we have to do it?" asked Neji.

"It will be thrilling!" said Guy. "Don't expect a stroll through the forest—you will be fighting for your very lives!"

"Fighting? So it is a battle?"

"You will have to wait and see!"

Lee was so pumped that he dropped on the spot and started doing one-armed pushups.

* * *

Chōji munched on his potato chips and glanced at his teammates to see what they thought.

"Okay," said Ino, flipping her bangs aside. "These two better not turn out to be cowards."

Shikamaru's lazy eyes gazed up at Asuma's face and he drawled, "Do we have to?"

"I knew you wouldn't want to do it," said Asuma. "You need an incentive. That's why there's going to be a prize at the end."

"A prize?" said Ino. "What kind of prize?"

"A sur-prise," said Asuma.

"How can it be an incentive if we don't even know what it is?" asked Shikamaru.

Asuma sighed. "Fine, fine, but don't tell anyone else I told you." He bent over, cupped one hand around his mouth, and whispered in Shikamaru's ear. Ino glared at her sensei until he straightened up.

"…All right," said Shikamaru. He rubbed his shoulder and gazed up at the sky. "I guess it's worth the trouble."

"What?" said Ino sharply. "What's the prize?"

"Is it food?" asked Chōji.

"I only told him because he wouldn't participate without a motive," said Asuma.

Ino crossed her arms. "Well, I won't either!"

"Here's your motive, then. You'll all do it or no barbecue for a month."

Chōji froze. Ino could feel his eyes on her, and God forbid she should get in the way of his barbecue.

"Ugh! Fine! He gets incentive and we get threats… I can't believe this…"

"Threats are a form of incentive themselves. Pretty effective, too." Asuma pulled out a cigarette, and Ino thought she saw him smirk as he turned away to light it.

* * *

Hinata seemed to shrink a little. Kiba slapped her back in what he meant to be a friendly way, but it nearly sent her flying smack into the dirt.

"You aren't scared, are you, Hinata?" he asked with a grin.

"N-no!" she said.

"Are you thinking of Naruto, then?"

Hinata blushed. Shino watched them, impassive as always.

"Don't worry about it," said Kurenai. "It's not like we'll force you to stop being ninja if you don't pass."

Kiba looked up at the puppy on his head. "You ready to pass this thing?"

Akamaru gave an affirmative bark.

* * *

The sun had set, the clouds hid most of the stars, and the sliver of moon threatened to disappear behind the clouds as well. The Third Training Ground was enveloped in darkness, and so were everyone's faces. It was difficult to tell some of them apart; they were all shadowy figures.

"Welcome." Kakashi's voice was a mere murmur, but the air was so still and quiet that all of them heard clearly. "I'm so glad you could all make it…"

"Oh, please! We were forced to come!" said Ino.

The eerie mood broken, Kiba snickered. There was a click and a small flame appeared by the hand of Asuma's silhouette. He lifted his lighter, illuminating part of his face, making the shadows there flicker. One of his eyes glowed orange in the reflected light of the flame. His other eye remained hidden in shadows so deep and dark that it seemed there was no eye there at all, only an empty socket.

"You're laughing now," he said. "But this test is no joke. It's not a game, and you need to understand that." He snapped his lighter shut. The light on his face vanished with the flame. Now there was only a red dot hovering by his mouth, marking the burning end of his cigarette.

"The test is simple," said Kurenai. "All you have to do is stay within the forest until sunrise."

Kakashi stepped toward the genin. They could not see his eye, but they could feel it watching their every move. "There are only three rules. Make sure you understand them. Rule number one: Stay in your teams of three at all times. Don't split up. Should you stumble upon another team, don't linger or form a group of six. Three per team—no more, no less."

Sakura glared at Naruto (his orange outfit made him stand out in the darkness). So they wouldn't be able to ditch him after all.

"Rule number two!" Guy leapt over to Kakashi's side. "Don't get caught! Let's just say you twelve won't be alone in the forest, and we'll leave it to you to discover just what I mean."

Naruto tried not to show how nervous he was. There was a pause before Asuma stepped forward.

"Rule number three: don't scream. Not even a little bit. This is the most important rule… If any one of you breaks it, your whole team fails."

Sakura glared at Naruto again, and Sasuke glanced at both his teammates. Of all the rotten luck, he was stuck with a boy who shouted on a regular basis and a girl who had screamed at the sight of his head sticking out of the ground. It was a good thing he didn't care about this test. Kiba smiled, glad he had such quiet teammates. Finally, Kurenai stepped up to the other sensei.

"It's not just rule three. If you leave the forest before sunrise or break the first rule, your entire team will pay the price. With rule two, it depends. If only one or two members of your team are caught, you may still have a chance to save them. Whichever teams remain at sunrise will pass and win a prize. Are there any questions?"

"What happens if we fail?" asked Ino.

Kakashi chuckled in a way that gave Naruto goose bumps. "Let's hope none of you have to find out."

_It's just a courage test,_ thought Sasuke. _They wouldn't do anything drastic…would they?_

Asuma lowered his cigarette. Kiba saw smoke billow from between his lips, which curved into a smile. "Are you ready?"

No one spoke.

"Let the courage test begin," said Kakashi.

The four jōnin vanished. Lee grabbed Neji and Tenten by the arms and sprinted into the forest, but the others looked around at each other's silhouettes before separating into their groups and entering different parts of the forest themselves.

* * *

Whatever light the moon and stars had granted them did not follow them through the trees. Within moments, they could not so much as make out the figures of their teammates two feet away.

"Hold it," said Sasuke, and he heard their footsteps stop with his. "Wait here a moment."

"What?" said Naruto. "Didn't you hear the rules? We can't split up, ya know!"

"I'm not leaving, idiot," said Sasuke. He held out his hand and walked a short distance, stopping when he felt the bark of a tree. After climbing up to a low branch, he found a thinner branch and snapped it off. Then he leapt down, landing with ease, and he pulled out a long strip of cloth from his hip pouch. It only took him a few seconds to wind and tie the cloth around the end of the branch. After that, he took out a bottle of oil and drenched the cloth with it.

"One of you hold this upright in front of me. Don't move."

Sakura followed his voice and took the branch from him, holding it out at arm's length when she realized what he was doing. Sasuke formed some hand seals and breathed out a small fireball at the cloth. It burst into flame, and he took the torch back from Sakura.

"You're so smart, Sasuke-kun," she said. "You really prepared for this!"

He grunted and turned, heading deeper into the forest. Scowling, Naruto followed him and Sakura. The warm orange flame danced and made their shadows flicker.

"So we're just gonna walk around until the sun comes up?" asked Naruto.

"We'll find a clearing where it'll be harder for someone to sneak up on us," said Sasuke. "We can stay there until we're forced to move."

"Sneak up on us? Forced to move?" repeated Sakura. "Who do you think is in here with us?"

"Probably the jōnin," said Sasuke. "It's a courage test, so I expect they'll try to scare us. It sounds like they'll try to capture us, too."

Naruto crossed his arms, glancing over his shoulder. He thought he saw a shadow dart across the path and disappear without a trace. Stopping dead, he asked without looking away, "Hey, guys, did you see that…?"

They stopped and looked back at him. Sasuke lifted the torch, scanning the surrounding trees.

"What did you see?"

"There was a shadow," said Naruto.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and lowered the torch. "Jumping at shadows, are we?"

"Something moved, ya know!"

"It was probably an animal," said Sasuke. He and Sakura kept walking.

"Yeah, right, an animal." Naruto muttered to himself as he followed them again.

When he saw another shadow dart between two trees to their left, he didn't say a word. All he did was swallow and glance at his teammates' backs.

* * *

Lee put his hands on his hips and shouted to the darkness ahead, "Bring it on!"

"That doesn't count as a scream, right?" Tenten asked Neji.

He sighed. "I doubt it. The point of the courage test is to not show fear, and I hardly think shouting 'bring it on' qualifies as showing fear." His Byakugan scanned their surroundings. "There is a clearing northwest of here. We will be able to see better there."

Tenten followed his footsteps, but Lee ran blindly ahead and crashed into a tree. Neji said nothing and kept walking. After rubbing his forehead and looking around, Lee heard them and followed. He managed to contain his excitement.

Then there was a sharp snap to Neji's left, but when he looked closer, there was nothing there. Not even a squirrel.

* * *

Shikamaru plopped down on his back in the middle of the small clearing, his hands under his head, and he gazed at the clouds above. A few feet away, Ino sat digging a fire pit with a kunai by the dim light of the stars. Chōji sat near her and ate chips as he watched. She looked at them, frowning.

"So this is how it's going to be?" she muttered. "I'm going to do all the work while you two laze around?"

"Oh…I'll help," said Chōji. "What do you want me to do?"

"Get me some twigs and leaves. Make sure they're dry."

Chōji stood up and walked over to the edge of the clearing. Shikamaru glanced at Ino. "How do you plan to start the fire?"

"With these," said Ino, lifting a couple of sticks. Shikamaru stared at her.

"We're going to freeze."

"Well, what do you suggest I do?"

He sighed. "Gather as many rocks as you can and bring them here."

"Rocks?"

"If you find the right kinds, it'll be much easier to create a spark than with sticks."

Ino frowned and finished gouging out the dirt with her kunai. "Why don't you get them yourself?"

Shikamaru was gazing at the clouds again, and he said nothing.

"Lazy, useless…" Ino muttered. She was practically stabbing at the dirt now.

Chōji soon returned with an armful of twigs and leaves. He put the leaves in the hole and the twigs beside it as Ino directed before he sat back down and finished off his chips. Ino lifted the two sticks, pressed the end of one into the ground between the leaves, held it there, and rubbed the other stick against the first. Her arm worked furiously, and after a moment, the first stick snapped in two.

Shikamaru did not even look over as Ino swore. "You don't even know what you're doing, do you?"

"It worked when they showed us at the Academy!" she shot back.

"And they told us it was one of the harder techniques, and that it requires a lot of time and patience… Chōji, could you go and bring back as many rocks as you can find?"

"I got the twigs and leaves," said Chōji.

Shikamaru pulled a candy bar out of his pocket. "I'll give you this."

Chōji snatched it from his hand and headed off to find some rocks. Sighing, Ino looked over at Shikamaru. His eyes were fixed on the clouds overhead. After a long minute, he spoke, not really directing the words at Ino.

"They seem so free, but even at night, they never rest. They're always drifting…"

Neither spoke again until Chōji came back. Shikamaru asked him to set the rocks down beside him, and without sitting up, he lifted the rocks one by one and held them over his tired eyes, then tossed them behind his head. Ino and Chōji watched, wondering what he was looking for. He picked up a rock, turned it in his hand over his eyes, and threw it back. He picked up another, examined it, and tossed it. Over and over, until he lifted the fourteenth rock and paused with it inches from his eyes. His teammates stared. Shikamaru ran his thumb across the rock's surface, and then he threw it behind his head.

"Oh, come on!" said Ino. "Won't any of these work?"

"Not yet," said Shikamaru. He tossed another one.

"Did I carry all these for nothing?" asked Chōji.

"No," said Shikamaru. He set the next rock beside him and picked up another.

Ino sat up straighter. "Did you find a good one?"

"Maybe." Shikamaru tossed the next rock back. With only three left, he picked up the one in the middle and held it to his eyes. "All right. Take this pointy one and strike it through the groove in this other one."

He picked up the rock he had set aside and held it and the pointy one out to Ino. She took the rocks, held them over the pit, and struck them together as Shikamaru instructed. On the fourth strike, a spark flew onto the dry leaves and a tiny flame was born. A smile lit Ino's face.

"It worked!"

"Blow on it gently before it goes out," said Shikamaru.

She did so, adding a few twigs as the fire grew. Chōji sat across from her and watched the smoke rise between them. Shikamaru continued to watch the clouds, even as the crackling fire grew larger and brighter beside him.

"We need more wood," said Ino. This time she went to find some herself.

"Nice work," Chōji told Shikamaru, who smiled and yawned.

"Wake me when the test is over."

He rolled onto his side so the fire warmed his back, and he closed his eyes.

Twenty minutes later, Chōji shook him awake to tell him that Ino hadn't returned yet.

* * *

Kiba led the way, even though Hinata could see even better than him with her Byakugan. She paid close attention to their surroundings as they walked. Other teams already occupied the two nearest clearings, but other than that, she could not see anyone else in the forest with them. It only made her more nervous.

"Hey Shino." Kiba looked over his shoulder. "Can you even see anything through those dark glasses of yours?"

"If you are suggesting I will walk into something, you are wrong," said Shino. "Why, you ask? Because I am fully aware of my surroundings."

"You could've just said yes," said Kiba.

He stopped suddenly, and so did Shino. Hinata, focused on movement somewhere behind them, walked into Shino.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry, Shino-kun…"

She looked back, but there was no movement anymore.

"Why did you stop?" Shino asked Kiba.

"I thought I smelled something…weird. It's gone now."

He kept walking, and the other two followed. The only sounds were their footsteps and their breathing. It may have been Hinata's imagination, but the air seemed to be growing colder with each step. She rubbed her arms and searched the trees with her eyes. She was so intent on keeping watch that it took her almost a minute to notice something with her ears, something she hadn't noticed with her Byakugan, something she couldn't see even now that she was aware. There was a fourth pair of footsteps within their team of three. It was coming from right behind her.

Hinata stopped and turned around. The scream rose up in her throat before she could even think of holding it down.

* * *

Naruto sat with his arms crossed, glaring past the torch they had planted in the ground. Sasuke sat across from him, ignoring Naruto just as he ignored Sakura sidling over to his side. The flames burned bright, wavering in Sasuke's glazed eyes, the only speck of warmth in the cold darkness.

"This is stupid, ya know," said Naruto.

Sasuke blinked, his slight trance broken. "I don't like it either, but we don't have much choice. Would you like to give up and leave?"

"As if!"

"Then shut up and keep watch."

Naruto flared up. "You keep watch!"

"I am," said Sasuke. "I'm trying to listen for noises too, but it would be a lot easier if you'd stop talking."

Naruto opened his mouth and the flame went out. Cold, clammy fingers grasped his face, and he felt hot breath at the back of his neck. Sasuke's shadowy figure leapt forward and pressed his palm over Naruto's mouth, stifling his scream. Sakura gasped. Then everything went black.

* * *

Neji kept his Byakugan activated as he sat down and leaned back against a tree. He watched Lee run around the clearing like a child on a sugar high. Tenten sat near Neji, sighing.

"Well, this is fun, isn't it?"

Neji said nothing. Lee peered through the trees.

"I am ready!" he called.

"Nothing will happen if you ask for it," said Neji.

Lee turned to face his team. "You are right! They will only try to scare us when we least expect it! I must be busy with something else so I can be surprised!" He ran over and leapt onto a low branch. Holding on with his legs, he hung upside down and locked his hands behind his head, beginning a series of midair sit-ups.

Neji rubbed his temple and looked away. "If we are going to be here until sunrise, you and Lee should try to get some sleep later, if the jōnin do not keep us busy all night. I can keep watch."

"Like I could get any sleep," said Tenten. "And Lee?" She just raised her eyebrow at Neji.

"…Point taken."

They sat in silence for several minutes before a crack split the air. A few birds took off from the treetops, and Neji's Byakugan snapped to the right, searching for the source of the noise. Nothing. Then another crack, and they jumped to their feet. This one sounded closer. Right behind them, _crack_. They flipped around. But there was nothing there.

"Lee!" said Tenten, and he paused, looking through the darkness at their silhouettes.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He dropped down from the tree with a spin and landed on his feet.

"How could you not hear?" cried Tenten.

Lee walked towards them, but ten feet away his foot sunk through the ground and the earth crumbled, swallowing him whole.

"Lee!" His teammates ran over and stopped short of the black pit in the ground. Tenten couldn't see the bottom, but Neji spotted Lee sprawled on his stomach beneath the rising cloud of dirt.

"Lee, are you all right?" Tenten called down.

Lee rolled over and sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"He is fine," said Neji. But then he saw hundreds of black specks begin to appear on the dirt floor of the pit.

"It sure is dark down here!" said Lee.

"Lee, get out of there!" said Neji.

Lee looked up. Neji realized that the specks were insects burrowing up through the dirt. They all crawled straight onto Lee, up his legs and the hand resting on the ground. He tensed, not moving. He opened his mouth, and for a moment Neji thought he would scream, but the sound that came out of his mouth was laughter.

"Ha…hahaha! That tickles!"

He squirmed, laughing as the insects swarmed over him, and all expression left Neji's face. Tenten squinted down through the darkness.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing to worry about," said Neji.

He saw her eyes widen. At once, he detected the unusual chakra flow in her brain. Neji touched her and sent his chakra surging through her. She blinked.

"Whatever you just experienced, it was only a genjutsu," he said. "Do they really think that will work around a wielder of the Byakugan?"

"No," said a voice.

Two hands burst from the ground at their feet and grasped their ankles, tugging them down through the earth.

* * *

Shikamaru and Chōji returned from their search and stopped beside the pit where their fire had long since gone out.

"Where could she have gone?" asked Chōji.

"Well, if she's not back yet, they must've gotten her," said Shikamaru. He massaged the back of his neck and looked up at the clouds again. "How troublesome…"

"Do you think she's all right?"

"They won't hurt her. But if we don't get her back, we'll fail. She shouldn't have gone off by herself like that… Though I guess she knew better than to walk off and break the first rule. We probably just didn't notice them take her. Oh well."

He sat down, and Chōji stared at him.

"You're giving up? What about the prize?"

Shikamaru didn't answer. He closed his eyes and formed a circle with his hands.

* * *

His eyes were gone. Naruto stood inches from her, blood pouring from his gaping eye sockets, thick scarlet blood streaming down his face and dripping at his feet. A hand from behind Hinata covered her mouth just in time, but she still heard her muffled scream as clearly as she felt her heart almost burst out of her chest.

"It's not real," said Shino. At this, Naruto toppled to the ground and vanished. Shino withdrew his hand from Hinata's mouth. Behind them, Kiba stared.

"What the hell was that?"

"Genjutsu," said Shino.

Hinata stood there trembling, staring down at her feet. Her heart wouldn't slow down. Shino watched her in silence.

"That was sick!" said Kiba, grimacing. "Why would they do something like that? I thought they'd be jumping out at us in masks, or…"

"Of course they would go this far," said Shino. "Why, you ask? Because true courage cannot be tested without exploiting our deepest emotions."

"Looks like you're safe, then," muttered Kiba. "It's still sick."

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and pressed her palms to her eyes. Kiba walked over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Tucked inside his jacket, Akamaru whimpered slightly.

"It's okay," said Kiba. "Naruto's fine."

"Kiba," said Shino.

"What?"

"Hold still."

"Huh?"

Shino stepped up behind him, and when Kiba tried to look over his shoulder, Shino grabbed his head and held it in place.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

After a moment, Shino let him go and stepped back. Kiba turned his head and saw a spider the size of an apple sitting in Shino's palm.

"Holy crap! Was that on my head?"

"Yes." Shino's other hand hovered over the spider as if he was about to stroke it. Then he walked a few feet away and set the spider on the ground. It scrabbled off into the darkness with the speed of a lizard. Kiba shivered.

"You should've killed it."

Shino straightened up and stared at him. Hinata lowered her hands, glancing at her teammates.

"…All right, stupid suggestion," said Kiba. He looked at Hinata. "Let's get going."

She and Kiba walked off side by side, and Shino followed behind them. Kiba felt his eyes piercing into his head.

"Okay, okay! Terrible suggestion! Killing bugs is bad!"

Shino did not look away. "Spiders are not bugs. They are arachnids. It is a common misconception, but they are obviously not insects. Why, you ask? Because insects have—"

"No! I don't need a lecture!" said Kiba. "Jeez. If spiders aren't bugs, why do you care about them?"

"They still have souls," said Shino.

"It could've killed me!"

"Its bite was not lethal."

"Are you kidding? That thing was huge!"

"Something's size does not indicate the threat it poses."

Hinata listened to their argument, trying to keep her mind off the genjutsu, but it seemed to have been burned over her eyes. Then there was a crack behind them, but her teammates did not seem to notice. She did not dare turn around.

"K-Kiba-kun…" she mumbled.

"You admit it has venom, but you're telling me it wouldn't have killed me?" he said.

"Its bite would have been too weak to inject the venom in the first place."

"Yeah right! Did you see those fangs?"

"Kiba-kun!"

They both looked at Hinata, and her face grew hot.

"I-I heard something…b-behind us…"

Kiba looked over his shoulder, past Shino. "There's nothing there but a creepy bug dude."

Akamaru began barking loudly. Kiba paused and looked down at the puppy hanging out of his jacket, and the other two stopped to watch.

"Whoa!" said Kiba. "What's that? You smell something? I don't—hey!"

Akamaru leapt down and scurried off, still barking. They ran after him.

"Wait! Akamaru!" shouted Kiba.

The barking started to fade, and Kiba ran faster. Shino and Hinata could not keep up.

"Kiba-kun!" said Hinata.

But Kiba was already out of sight.

* * *

Up on a high branch of a tree, Asuma appeared beside Kakashi. "Is it almost time?"

"Not quite," said Kakashi. He did not look at Asuma, but kept watching the forest floor. "Let's wait a little longer…test them a little more, like this. When they think they've worked out our tactics, we'll switch things up."

Asuma smiled. "Gotta keep them on their toes. This is getting interesting."

"They haven't seen anything yet," said Kakashi. "We're just warming up."

"Hey," said Asuma after a pause. "Was that your genjutsu of Naruto?"

"Without his eyes? No," said Kakashi.

"Hm… I can't see Kurenai doing that to her own student…"

"I can't see Guy doing anything like that either."

They glanced at each other. "So who did it?" Asuma wondered aloud. Kakashi didn't answer.

There were rapid footsteps below them, and the two jōnin watched in silence. First passed Akamaru, his barks echoing through the forest; then came Kiba, and far behind, Hinata and Shino. As he passed under the tree, Shino looked up. The branches were hardly visible through the dozens of crows perched there. Every last one of them had its eyes on him, as if they could smell the feast of insects inside him and were waiting for an opportunity to swoop down and tear through his flesh.


End file.
